Are you ready for the new year? I’m not sure if I am, but apparently there’s no stopping it! So it looks like we should embrace the onslaught of new dramas about to head our way. Let’s start the new year right with some amazing dramas! Let’s see what we have to look forward to in this January 2019 edition of “Korean Dramas You Need to Be Watching.” This monthly series is meant to keep you updated on what’s happening in that amazing world of Korean dramas so that you don’t miss out on anything!

Here are the kdramas you should keep an eye out for in January 2019:

My Pick:

1. The Crowned Clown

2019 looks to be bringing an end to the historical drought we experienced last year, and that all begins with The Crowned Clown starting off the year. Yeo Jin Goo seems like a perfect fit for dual roles in this drama, and I’m more than ready to see a historical full of emotion and intrigue!

The Crowned Clown follows the story of a king (Yeo Jin Goo) who fears for his life so he brings in a kind look-a-like clown to stand in for him. A love triangle will also ensue between the two and the queen (Lee Se Young).

The Crowned Clown is scheduled to premiere January 7 on tvN.

PREMIERING IN JANUARY:

2. What’s Wrong, Poong Sang? (Liver or Die)

What’s Wrong, Poong Sang? is about a middle aged man (Yu Ju Sang) who hasn’t been able to live his own life because he had to care for his four younger siblings. The drama comes from the writer of Our Gab Soon.

What’s Wrong, Poong Sang? is scheduled to premiere January 9 on KBS.

3. Kingdom

Kingdom is a zombie sageuk about a crown prince (Joo Ji Hoon) in the Joseon era who discovers a terrible zombie epidemic in the kingdom after the deceased king is resurrected. The 6 episode drama comes from the writer Kim Eun Hee of Signal and Ghost.

Kingdom is scheduled to premiere January 25 on Netflix.

4. Romance is a Bonus Book

Romance is a Bonus Book is a love story focusing on people in their 30’s at a publishing company. Lee Jong Suk plays a writer and chief editor with Lee Na Young as a copywriter struggling to get a job because she is overqualified so she lies about her education to get a position.

Romance is a Bonus Book is scheduled to premiere in January 26 on tvN.

5. Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho 2

Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho 2 follows lawyer Jo Deul Ho (Park Shin Yang) after he is wrongly accused by a powerful law firm that results in his license being taken away.

6. Spring Must Be Coming

Spring Must Be Coming tells the story of two women (Lee Yoo Ri and Uhm Ji Won) who switch bodies which gives them new opportunities and perspectives on life.

Spring Must Be Coming is scheduled to premiere January 23 on MBC.

7. Touch Your Heart

Touch Your Heart is a romantic comedy about a lawyer (Lee Dong Wook) who hires a secretary (Yoo In Na), but it turns out she is an actress that was recently involved in a big scandal who is trying to get a new role through the job.

Touch Your Heart is scheduled to premiere January 30 on tvN. (UPDATE: Premiere date pushed to February 6)

8. Babel

Babel is a mystery melodrama about a prosecutor (Park Shi Hoo) who learns a big corporation was connected to his father’s death and sets out to find the truth. He then becomes the prosecutor on a case with a former top actress (Jang Hee Jin) as the lead suspect in her husband’s murder.

Babel is scheduled to premiere January 27 on TV Chosun.

CURRENTLY AIRING IN JANUARY:

9. The Last Empress

The Last Empress is set in a fictional South Korea which operates under a constitutional monarchy. It follows a musical actress (Jang Na Ra) who marries the emperor (Shin Sung Rok) and becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder.

The Last Empress airs Wednesday and Thursday on SBS.

10. My Strange Hero

My Strange Hero is a romantic comedy about a man (Yoo Seung Ho) who is wrongly accused of committing violence at school because of his first love (Jo Bo Ah) and is expelled. Then as an adult, he returns to the school for revenge but finds himself out of place and in the middle of another situation.

My Strange Hero airs Monday and Tuesday on SBS.

AND SO YOU’RE UP TO DATE,OTHER DRAMAS THAT WILL BE ENDING IN JANUARY:

Memories of the Alhambra

Memories of the Alhambra deals with augmented reality computer games that alters what a person experiences around them. A CEO (Hyun Bin) travels to Spain and stays at the hostel of a woman (Park Shin Hye), and the two get caught up in a strange incident.

Memories of the Alhambra airs Saturday and Sunday on tvN.

Encounter (Boyfriend)

Encounter is an opposites story that follows the complicated romance between a free-spirited ordinary man (Park Bo Gum) who seems to have nothing and the daughter (Song Hye Kyo) of a politician who seems to have everything.

Encounter airs Wednesday and Thursday on tvN.

Clean With Passion For Now

Clean With Passion For Now is based on a webtoon of the same name about the relationship between a cheerful and untidy woman (Kim Yoo Jung) who works at a cleaning company and the company’s owner (Yoon Kyun Sang) who suffers from germaphobia and is completely obsessed with cleanliness.

Clean With Passion For Now airs Monday and Tuesday on JTBC.

Children of Nobody (Red Moon, Blue Sun)

Children of Nobody is about a woman (Kim Sun Ah) who has a great life but loses everything after a brief accident The story follows her as she tries to uncover the truth behind what happened with the help of a detective (Lee Yi Kyung).

Children of Nobody airs Wednesday and Thursday on MBC.

SKY Castle

SKY Castle is a satirical comedy about the lives of 4 wealthy women and their families and all they go through to make sure their children are successful and get into good universities. Starring Yum Jung Ah, Yoon Se Ah, Lee Tae Ran, and Oh Na Ra.

SKY Castle airs Friday and Saturday on JTBC.

Less Than Evil

Less Than Evil is a crime drama that is a remake of the British series Luther about a detective (Shin Ha Kyun) who is tormented by the crimes he solves and a psychopath (Lee Seol) who helps him.

Less Than Evil airs Wednesday and Thursday on MBC.

Priest

Priest is a medical horror drama dealing with exorcism that is set in a Catholic hospital. Yeon Woo Jin plays a priest who is skilled in exorcism, Jung Yu Mi an emergency room doctor who has lost her faith in God, and Park Yong Woo (Life Tracker Lee Jae Goo) plays another priest who raised Yeon Woo Jin.

Priest airs Saturday and Sunday on OCN.

What dramas are you looking forward to or enjoying in January?

Make sure to get caught up because there are more dramas coming your way in February!

yay – my favourite post of the month. 🙂 My top pick is also the crowned clown. Bring on historicals – can’t wait. I didn’t realise I liked historicals this much – lol!! Here are my picks in no particular order:
the crowned clown
kingdom
romance is a bonus book
touch your heart

Yes! Bring on those historicals! We need them after 2018, lol. Haha, yeah, I’m such a historical lover too. I’ve always liked them, bu they’ve just grown on me more and more as the years go by. And I love all your picks. All on my plan to watch list too 🙂

Personally, I find ‘Memories at Alhambra’ rather boring despite the 2 famous leads- Hyun Bin & Park Shin Hye & the interesting locations. The storyline tends to be draggy with the gaming scenes repeating themselves as the male lead needs to ‘get the hang of it’. I stopped watching after ep.5. Kind of boring for me.

Aww, that’s too bad 😦 I’m planning to start it next week as it gets closer to the end. I really like Park Shin Hye and am interested in the unique setting. Hoping I enjoy it and that you find a drama you love soon 🙂

I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way!! I watched the first 2-3 episodes but didn’t have any interest in watching more despite how much I adore Hyun Bin. I’ve never been a huge fan of PSH but figured the series was getting so much hype and the budget I think was good but for some reason there was nothing to hook me so I was going to wait for Kay to review before picking it up again. I need your stamp of approval before moving ahead with this one, Kay! 😉

Oh my gosh! Very very late comment. Will hopefully watch BABEL (Park Shi Ho oppa <3), TOUCH YOUR HEART, THE MAN WHO BECAME KING (Interested to see what more can our Yeo Jin Goo do), and my pick for this month is KINGDOM (for its unique premise for a historical).
Another probabilities are SPRING MUST BE COMING and WHAT'S WRONG POONG SANG. 🙂

Haha, just sign you up for all the new premieres 😉 There are a lot of good ones to start the year. I’m anxious to see what Yeo Jin Goo has in store for us too! I know it will be good 🙂 And of course, I have to see our Goblin couple in Touch Your Heart. Also need to get in the mood for some zombie action. Lots of variety and fun this month!

*Dance Sports Girls (6.5/10) – still haven’t had the chance to see its finale episode.
*Witch’s Court – on the third episode yet and I am liking it so far.
*Clean With Passion for Now – Gosh! The Cleanliness Couple. Hehehe.
*Boksoo’s Back – on my 4th episode yet. I am liking it so much. ❤
*Children of a Lesser God – still on the 5th episode. It is good so far.

Upnext!

Priest
Room No. 9
Fated to Love You
The Last Empress
Memories of the Alhambra
Kingdom
The Man Who Became King

You’re as busy as ever 🙂 I’m super excited to check out Bok Soo’s Back and Clean With Passion For Now. Let me know what you think of Witch’s Court when you finish it. You know I’m picky with my crime/legal dramas. Your Honor definitely spoiled me, hehe. And I’ve got several of your up next list on my list too. And yes, still sooooo many more dramas to watch on my list too!

I just wish my every day could extend to a 30-hour day instead of only 24 hours. Hehehe how nice it could be if that miracle would have happened, right? XD And so more chances to watch those many many dramas on our lists.

Hmmm, that’s a good question 🙂 Well, a few reasons I guess. One would be I don’t tend to go for gritty or scary crime dramas, so that eliminates a lot of their line up right off the bat. Then I’m more choosy with crime shows in general, so one usually has to really grab me to go for it. And I guess not many of the OCN ones have done that lately. And finally, I really prefer to watch on sites like Viki or Netflix, and OCN dramas haven’t been getting picked up much these days. I do plan eventually watch Bad Guys 2 though. And I’m over halfway through Life on Mars, but you know I’m not loving that one, lol. Hopefully, there’ll be some this year that fit my tastes more since OCN really does some of the best thrillers 🙂

Having read the plot, I thought I would just like to check its first episode and decide whether or not it’s a good watch. Well, I am so thankful for my decision. It was more than great! It was one of the best dramas I’ve ever watched. Well, I am still on my way to searching for the best dramas in the Dramaland, and my third year being a K-drama lover has just started so I still have a long long way to go, it’s as long as my watchlist. XD

Feel Good to Die just has every single element of an amazing drama: nice script, quirky characters, solid supporting characters, dramatic feels (in its uniquest way), ‘funny’ comedy, thrills, twists, and lots of more great things about it! I could have said all of the other best qualities of the drama but I am afraid I would end up not finishing this review if I continued. And two most important things that really have captured me: the ‘heart’ of the drama and ‘the moral/life lessons’. To note, this is one of those very few dramas that truly has the heart. It’s very unlikely for me to watch a drama where cry, and laugh at the same time. And Happy If You Died is one of those few. That was the specialty of the drama for me. It knew how to suddenly turn your laughter to cry in just a flick. Another drama that showed this kind of unique quality is the ever-amazing Another Oh Hae Young (10+/10). I remembered I cried and laughed (like crazy) at the same so so many times while watching Oh Hae Young. I’m missing it again.

This is what I am looking for a drama. No matter how simple the conversation or the scene is, they put their heart and I was moved and touched by it.

So my comment got even a little longer without actually talking about the real stuffs about Happy If You Died. I will stop right here, and I will let your curiosity for it grow.

Oops! I just have to say a single spoiler: Happy If You Died has a happy ending! That’s all!

MY RECOMMENDATION: For this kind of drama, I would have no other words to recommend, but just try it! So you will see. (Well, we have different tastes and I have found mine.)

Wow! I’m so glad you found a drama that you love so much! It does sound like this was a perfect one for you 🙂 It really is the best feeling when you find that show that you just connect with. Yay for you! 🙂